Sussex in control against Red Rose

An aggressive bowling display put league leaders Sussex in control of their LV= County Championship match against Lancashire as the visitors finished the second day with a strong lead of 141.

Sussex added 22 to their overnight score before being bowled out for 298.

Michael Yardy was the star of the show as he hit 139 off 232 balls before being run out by Glen Chapple.

Lancashire then made a dire start to their chase as regular wickets saw the hosts 48 for five at one stage.

Sussex's Steve Magoffin took the first three of those scalps and finished with impressive figures of three for 31.

Tom Smith (45 not out) and Alex Davies (41no) steadied the ship for the home side as Lancashire reached 157 for six at the close of play.

Tim Ambrose smashed an explosive 167 to fire Warwickshire into a commanding 295-run lead over Middlesex on day two at Edgbaston.

Warwickshire were bowled out for 462 but not before Ambrose had put his team firmly in the driving seat with a confident innings that included 20 fours.

The 31-year-old was ably partnered by Jeetan Patel (105) and later Chris Wright (52) as the tail rubbed salt into the Middlesex wounds.

Andrew Gale announced his return to the Yorkshire line-up with a century as the Tykes established a daunting 527-run lead over Durham.

Gale, who had dropped himself to make way for Joe Root last week against Middlesex, was back in the side and back in form as he made 124 before declaring on 589 for eight.

Jonny Bairstow was an excellent partner for the Yorkshire captain as he made 95 before being caught lbw by Chris Rushworth (three for 113) and there were also strong contributions from Adil Rashid (68) and Andy Hodd (41).

Durham were 62 for one in reply at the close of play with Mark Stoneman (48 not out) closing in on a half-century.

Five wickets from Alfonso Thomas helped Somerset dominate the second day and battle back into contention against Nottinghamshire.

Notts looked in control at the start of play but an excellent spell from Thomas (five for 127) saw the visitors fall from 390 for five to 440 all out.

A spirited batting performance then took Somerset to 237 for four at the close of play.

Opener Marcus Trescothick led from the front with 72 before being dismissed by Peter Siddle (two for 69) and Alviro Petersen was left unbeaten on 62 at stumps.

In Division Two, Worcestershire's Gareth Andrew finished with five wickets as his side established a 105-run advantage over Glamorgan.

The league leaders started the day 232 for nine and were only able to add eight more to their overnight score but a flimsy Glamorgan batting display saw the home side bowled out for 155, with only Mark Wallace (51no) emerging with any real credit.

Andrew (five for 40) was Worcestershire's best attacking threat while Saeed Ajmal took three for 48.

A Ned Eckersley century helped Leicestershire make an excellent start in reply to Essex's first-innings 281 as the visitors finished 255 for two at the end of day two.

Eckersley finished 104 not out, having hit one six and 11 fours in an impressive innings.

There were also good scores for Greg Smith (59) and Angus Robson (69 not out) as Leicestershire trailed by 26 runs at stumps.

Kent surpassed Surrey's first-innings score on day two thanks to innings of 126 from both Rob Key and Brendan Nash.

The pair's sizeable contributions helped Kent to 355 for four in reply to Surrey's 285 all out.